Urgent call to action! Police raze Huntington Station Tent City destroying the property, food and shelter of over a hundred homeless. Many face possibility of freezing to death! Long Island Food Not Bombs needs your help to prevent that from happening! Please spread word, forward article, re-link, re-tweet, etc...

Many people may know that Long Island Food Not Bombs shares free groceries and other necessities every Tuesday at 6:30pm. What people may not realize is that our Huntington Food Share is only a mile away from a tent city that is home to over a hundred Central American and Mexican men with access to no other form of shelter.

The Huntington Station Tent City is home to many who would otherwise freeze to death on the street. The Township of Huntington is made up of 200,000+ people and has no shelter system. In addition, besides Long Island Food Not Bombs and our friends at St. Hugh's Project Hope, there are no real services that offer free groceries, clothing, etc...

For years the Huntington Station Tent City has provided enough shelter to prevent a countless number of people from freezing to death. Sitting on 27 acres of land there are nearly 30 encampments, they are entrenched between openings in the woods. Even though the media has been saying there is only a dozen or so men who stay there, the truth is the real number is over a hundred. The tent city is also sophisticated with half a dozen latrines, some of which include showers. Someone has even dug a pump well to bring in fresh water.

While the encampments vary in size, they share numerous characteristics; most include massive tarps 30-40 feet long. There are mattresses that line the floors and walls for insulation, there are dozens of sheets and winter wear. People have pictures of their families and icons of Christ for worship. It is a home for the unwanted and unseen and while it's the manifestation of poverty it's also the embodiment of a community that wants to survive, a community that doesn't want to freeze to death!

Without a doubt, the tent city provides much more shelter than just sleeping on the street. And so that’s one of the saddest parts of the actions of the Township of Huntington, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Starlight Building Corporation and the Family Service League. On Monday morning (Jan.11th), all of entities collaborated in the extremely violent destruction of the shelters in the tent city. I say extremely violent because of the wanton devastation that was done to these men. Their homes were destroyed, tents and mattresses (used for insulation) were cut apart, materials for cooking like stoves were smashed, clothing was thrown about and ripped apart, containers of food were smashed up and personal belongings like family photos were destroyed or lost. The homes of over a hundred people were destroyed and no alternative was provided. Instead of an insulated shelter the men now have to suffer sleeping on the cold street, facing an even greater threat of hypothermia.

On Wednesday, another LIFNB volunteer and I visited the now destroyed tent city and found many who were trying to salvage their belongings; some were even trying to rebuild. Personally, the vindictive destruction and the hatred behind it was one of the most despicable things I've ever seen. The residents of the Huntington Tent City have lost everything and they need our help.

Like I said before, many of these men are trying to rebuild and pick up the pieces. Unless we demand that the town leaves these men be (men who aren't bothering anyone) they'll be destined to endure the same violence again.

Long Island Food Not Bombs is not asking, we're demanding that this does not happen again and we need your help. We're asking that you demand the Town of Huntington and the Suffolk Police to postpone any further eviction plans until an adequate 24-7, year round, shelter system is created within the town. Trying to survive is not a crime! And the wanton raciest violence that’s been done to these people is not acceptable and can not be continued. Please check out below for information on who to contact.

****On Sunday night we'll be posting up a call to action on our site with more information, please check us for updates.

In the mean time we ask that you voice your thoughts about what has happened with the Town of Huntington and the Suffolk Police Department. Below is a list of emails and a template letter you can use, just fill your name in at the bottom.

As a concerned voter I was extremely disturbed to hear about the eviction of Huntington Station Tent City and the violent and wanton destruction suffered by it's residents. As a compassionate and rational person I believe that everyone has a right to survival and that acting on such a right should not be against the law.

With that in mind, I ask that the Township of Huntington and the Suffolk County Police department delay any further actions against the residents of the Huntington Station Tent City until an adequate 24/7 year round shelter system is created within the town. The seasonal housing provide by HIHI, while well meaning, is not a solution and completely inadequate to handle the hundreds of homeless within our township. If this simple humanitarian action can not be met then I insist that any further actions against tent city residents be postponed to prevent these men from freezing to death - any shelter is better than none!

It is my hope that both the Township of Huntington and the Suffolk County Police Department can act as responsible, caring and intelligent arbiters in this situation, supporting both a temporary and permanent solution. I also suggest that community organizations, such as Long Island Food Not Bombs, be consulted in this process. Food Not Bombs has experience with these issues in Huntington Station and embodies the voices of many whom will feel the affects of your actions. I thank you for your time and hope for your immediate action to rectify this situation.

Long Island Food Not Bombs would like to thank everyone who’s helped collect warm clothing and materials in support of the residents of the Huntington Station Tent City. Many of these items, including 50 winter jackets, were shared today with former residents. Everyone is extremely grateful for the support but there’s still much more that needs to be done. It’s time we stand up as a community and show the culprits of these heinous actions that we are going to take no more of it!

Tomorrow: Tuesday, January 19th:

Starting at 10am tomorrow morning (Jan.19th) and going through 4pm in the afternoon we are asking everyone to contact (call, email, fax, etc…) the Town of Huntington. Tell them to stop any further eviction activities until the Township of Huntington has an adequate Shelter System.

We still encourage everyone to continue making phone calls, emails, etc… after this date but we hope that you will make an extra effort tomorrow. The idea is to get as many people as possible to call at one time; that way we can’t be dismissed.

Please aim to call/email all the numbers, multiple times if possible. If the lines are busy it’s a good thing, it means our message is getting across; but with that said keep trying. If you end up getting the same person on the phone more than once you can simply reiterate your message and ask for any updates.

To be clear the Township of Huntington (200,000+) has no shelter system. We hope that you join us in asking that the town creates a 24/7 year round shelter system.

As a concerned voter I was extremely disturbed to hear about the eviction of Huntington Station Tent City and the violent and wanton destruction suffered by its residents. As a compassionate and rational person I believe that everyone has a right to survival and that acting on such a right should not be against the law.

With that in mind, I ask that the Township of Huntington and the Suffolk County Police department delay any further actions against the residents of the Huntington Station Tent City until an adequate 24/7 year round shelter system is created within the town. The seasonal housing provide by HIHI, while well meaning, is not a solution and completely inadequate to handle the hundreds of homeless within our township. If this simple humanitarian action can not be met then I insist that any further actions against tent city residents be postponed to prevent these men from freezing to death - any shelter is better than none!

It is my hope that both the Township of Huntington and the Suffolk County Police Department can act as responsible, caring and intelligent arbiters in this situation, supporting both a temporary and permanent solution. I also suggest that community organizations, such as Long Island Food Not Bombs, be consulted in this process. Food Not Bombs has experience with these issues in Huntington Station and embodies the voices of many whom will feel the affects of your actions. I thank you for your time and hope for your immediate action to rectify this situation.

Regards, YOUR NAME HERE

For Wednesday, January 20th: We hope everyone continues the phone calls/emails to the Township of Huntington, but on Wednesday we ask that people also start making calls to Suffolk Legislator John Cooper.

Legislator, John Cooper: (631) 854-4500

Future Updates:

As developments arise, we’ll be posting updates on our website. Stay tuned for actions we’ll be taking later in the week. If you were forward this email, feel free to add yourself to our mailing list at www.lifnb.com/newsletter

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